Hey everyone,

quick blog from Hue. Arrived here yesterday from Hoi An, which is this gorgeous port town just outside Danang. It's the place to go to get your suits made up for a third of the price (just ask Jeremy Clarkson), and if you want some bright purple chinese football boots made to measure (i now have a pair...momentary splurge...)

the town itself is really beautiful, definitely got the french ifluences in the architecture. it's also a tourist trap as every pcturesque alleyway looks like the next one...and the 20 after that.

I took a vietnemese evening cookery class in a psh restaurant there, so will be cooking up lumpia (spring rolls) every weekend on my return! (mike will be pleased :) )

Took the bus to Hue yesterday afternoon, stopping for a visit to Marble Mountain - a series of buddhist, and newer hindu, temples in the caves on top of a mountain. such a beautiful place, very calming..especially after climbing the steps all the way up there.

Hue is the 3rd largest city in Vietnam. Pretty hectic, like all the cities, but half the city north of the river is the old imperial city, which is lovely. In the old dynasties the city was contained within the wall, as was the citadel where the emperors would keep all their many wives away from the public. There's a few photos of some quite unhappy eunuchs in the photography section.

I toured the city on the back of a rented motorbike today - definitely the way to see vietnam. One of the group, Tom, has a motorbike at home (and, mum, a fully clean motorbike licence) so was really fun. Since the rules of the road in Vietnam is the larger vehicle gets right of way, we suddenly took a leap above pedestrian and bicylcle status for once. just gotta watch out for the bolshy tiny asian women on their vespas, as they're the most vicious!

My sunburn is still very sore. I'm now covered in blisters, so i look like a scaly monster. not sexy. the sun is so hot here it only took a short while in the sun after a swim to completely destroy my skin. so i'm fully covered most of the time now, and getting used to my cold showers. fingers crossed i'll look a bit more human soon...

So only a few days till the end of the tour - tomorrow we'll arrive by overnight train to Halong Bay, thena couple of days in Hanoi before alll over :( be sad to leave the group. But i may actually see them again, as i've now decided to travel to Laos for the last week on my own. While Vietnam is a safe place for single female travellers, i've noticed that people can be more harassing and pushy with sales when i'm on my own, and people are generally less helpful. My tour leader has agreed with me, and is instead going to help me sort out accommodtion and transport in Laos, before i fly from Hanoi on the 27th.

So, only 10 days left :( still, only a matter of time before i come back this way again :)

Miss you all

Caz xxx